Page 47 - MS Year in Review 2020

Although culture is everywhere and in everything, sometimes you enter

organizations where it is not easy to determine what business they are in. In such
environments, the décor is plain, almost non-descript. There are no clues to
suggest what the business does: no culture statements, no pictures about the

business, no hint of what business the company is in. This is characteristic of a
company whose culture is so ill-defined (almost a “non-culture culture”), a culture
devoid of obvious cultural symbols, that it is the apotheosis of a weak culture. It

usually occurs by happenstance rather than design. It is a marker of a company
that does not recognize the importance of culture to people, either to members of

the organization or to those whom they do business with.

A “cultureless” company is an illusion. Just as an individual must have a
personality, a company must have a culture, even though it appears not to exist. A

company that appears cultureless is actually a company with a “weak” or ill-defined
culture. It is not possible for an organization to have no culture, just as it is not
possible for a person to have no personality. Nevertheless, we are using the term to

characterize a special kind of organization that seems devoid of culture.

Strong culture companies can be either positive (an asset) or negative (a liability).
If the company’s values are constructive, then having a strong culture is an asset.
If the company’s values are negative or dysfunctional, then having a strong culture

will be a liability. For example, the informal culture at Ford Motor Company during
the late 1960s and early 70’s was captured in the statement made among

employees that: “if you can get it to drive out the door, we can sell it!” This was not
a formal corporate pronouncement, but a statement that was prevalent in
conversations at the company. It was a statement that contained an implicit lack of

respect for the customer, and suggested the lack of importance of true product
quality. Although Ford later made the pronouncement that “Quality is Job 1,” this
was clearly a response to damage to its brand when customers realized that Ford

products had declined in quality. In contrast, Toyota has steadily increased its
customer loyalty and overcome the once prevailing view that products “made in
Japan” were of inferior quality. It has accomplished this by a culture that

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